Mugabe Accuses Opposition Of Being Behind Country’s Woes

Zimbabwe President, Robert Mugabe is accusing opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) of colluding with independent businesses to hike prices of goods and make miserable the life of ordinary Zimbabweans. Mugabe said ongoing spiraling inflation, the shortages of basic commodities, constant power cuts, high transport costs and intermittent disruptions to water supplies are calculated attempt by the opposition MDC, which is backed by Britain to force a regime change. Mugabe also described as illegal various sanctions imposed on the Zimbabwe government, which he said is causing untold hardships on the ordinary people. But the opposition dismissed Mugabe’s accusation saying he is to blame for the country’s economic and political crisis. Sydney Masamvu a Zimbabwean with the International Crisis Group in South Africa. He tells reporter Peter Clottey from the capital, Pretoria that Mugabe’s accusations are without foundation.

“I think you can see what has become the hallmark of President Mugabe’s rhetoric. That he blames everyone, but himself for the problems bedeviling the country. The country has been mismanaged for the past eight to 10 years before even the formation of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change. And really to blame everything on the MDC and the British without really himself taking and introspection and apportioning himself the blame, which he is the leader of Zimbabwe finds itself in is really what can amount to an insult to the Zimbabweans who are suffering under the current circumstances of best mismanagement by his regime and his leadership,” Masamvu pointed out.

He said the targeted sanctions against leaders of Mugabe’s government are in the right direction.

“The sanctions are targeted travel sanctions… the MDC is not the one, which is behind all the bad policies, which Mugabe has implemented in the past ten years for the simple reason of trying to perpetuate his stay in power. So, in a sense it is high time that Mugabe acknowledges that he has mismanaged the country he should exit and make the way for the setting up of a transitional government, which sets the country forward on toward economic and political recovery,” he said.

Masamvu said there are mixed results of the ongoing sanctions against the ZANU-PF government.

“I think you can look at it in two ways one that the sanctions as much as they were targeted in travels have not helped. I think most of Zimbabwe politicians who are on the targeted travel sanctions have done their business transactions in South Africa, neighboring countries, and Malaysia and life has been going on for them. But in a sense so far as some of the leadership of Mugabe’s regime does not interact with western financial institutions that is a good thing. But the whole country has suffered because of the sanctions,” Masamvu noted.

He said the opposition stands a good chance to win next month’s presidential run-off.

“Mugabe has gone beyond the line where he can win an election. Whether free or fair Mugabe can no longer win an election, so, in a sense that argument does not follow. There are no chances of the MDC there are no chances for Morgan Tsvangirai. Morgan Tsvangirai will humiliatingly defeat Mugabe in any election he (Mugabe) can only stay in power through violence or fraud. He can no longer win an election, it is beyond him,” he said.